Malibu Mall Madness
by L1701E
Summary: Chapter 8 up! Set in RogueFanKC's Misfitverse. The X-Men have another adventure when they go to a new mall in Malibu! Next: Kyle and Tessa do some talking! Read and Review please! Suggestions gladly accepted!
1. Chapter 1

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Hey there, folks! L1701E, and with a brand-new story set in RogueFanKC's Misfitverse! The X-Men try to take a break, but fate has other plans for them.**

**Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics. So does Lila Cheney of the Superstars. The Superstars members Paul Starr/Starchild, Craig Starr/Darkstar, and Kyle Wildfire/Thunderbolt are mine. And Jenni Starr/Shining Star are the property of Aaron Whitaker.**

_**Continuity Note: This story is set between chapters 31 and 32 of RogueFanKC's "Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight".**_

**The Xavier Institute**

"_The Mutant Question: Threat or Menace?_" The voice of Hector Rodriguez announced. "_Find out on Twenty Questions!_"

"Uch." Scott Summers groaned on the couch, changing the channel.

"_The Justice League: Pawns of manipulation, or corrupt wannabe overlords? We debate this tonight on-!_"

"Oh, God..." Scott groaned again, changing the channel.

"_It doesn't surprise the Kid of Rock!_" He heard Kid Razor, the Local Hero of Cleveland, rant on a talk show. "_Don't get the Kid of Rock wrong, he knows he's gonna get blasted for this, but he doesn't care. He doesn't believe the League blew anyone up. But he does believe the League set themselves up for it by putting up the damn cannon in the first place. Oh, and don't get the Kid of Rock started on the X-Men! Those clowns claim to fight for mutant-human peace, but let's just be honest with ourselves, huh? Have they made any real progress in that? There are quite a few mutants who live in Cleveland, and they all say the same thing: The only thing the X-Men and Misfits have done is do a better job than the federal government has on making things WORSE for them! Hell, there's this mutant heroine I know, and she says all the X-Men and Misfits ever do is make mutants look like out-of-control lunatics._"

"Even _other heroes_ are bashing us. Wonderful." Scott sighed, changing the channel.

"Hey, Scott." Jean Grey greeted with a smile as she walked into the room.

"Hey, Jean." Scott waved. "How's Kurt doing?"

"Still resting in the infirmary. Otherwise that, he's doing fine." Jean explained. She then put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "You seem a bit down."

"The famous telepathy?" Scott blinked.

"I don't need to be a telepath to see you're a bit down." Scott sighed at Jean's statement.

"I'll admit it, I'm..." Scott rubbed his head. "...frustrated."

"It might help if you talk about it." Jean smiled, wrapping her arms around Scott. Ever since she nearly lost Scott thanks to Axel, the redheaded telepathic telekinetic had been working at enjoying her relationship with Scott as it is, and not worry about keeping up with Althea and Todd. "I know it's been a pain to see the Misfits with the Keyblades..." **1**

"It's not that this time." Scott explained. "It's just..." He struggled to find the words. "I feel we don't get appreciated, you know?"

"Scott, we are appreciated." Jean explained. "The Justice League appreciates us. So do the Titans. They appreciated our help in the battle against Trigon..."

"Jean, people are calling the Justice League 'maniacal overlords'." Scott countered. "And the Titans are getting their fair share of public backlash over Starfire, a Tamaranean, and Raven, a human-demon hybrid, being members. It just seems that no matter how hard we try, no matter how hard we fight, nothing gets better."

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" Jean agreed. "I know it's been hard, but we can't give up. Not with the Heartless, the Organization, and the Hellfire Club out there."

"I know, but..." Scott sighed. "...sometimes, seeing how us heroes get treated...I ask myself if it's worth it. Will winning this war change anything? I want to think it will, but...I can't help but think it won't." Meanwhile, as Jean was trying to get Scott out of his funk, one of the New Mutants was lounging around outside.

"Oh, man I'm bored." Tabitha Smith sighed. The young bomb-making mutant was lying back on the grass on the grounds of the Institute, staring up at the clear blue sky. "All we have ever done lately is train, train, train!"

"I agree." Amara Aquilla concurred. Like her friend, she was lying on the grass, staring up at the sky. "I have grown rather dull with it." A sigh escaped her lips. "I wish we could do something."

"Yeah, but we can't go to a mall or anything like that because everyone on the planet is out to kill us or God knows what." Tabitha agreed with a sigh of her own. "I am so fed up with Scott's endless training sessions. We need a break from this!"

"I agree." Amara nodded. "Constant combat and endless training is not good for any warrior. Even Hercules needed rest to perform his trials."

"Yeah, but what can we do to relax?" Tabby sighed. "There's only so much to do here at the Institute."

"...Perhaps we can create a game out of the Danger Room. I have heard that Forge has bee modifying it for that purpose." Amara suggested, sitting up.

"'Mara, what 're we, game designers?" Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Nah, you know what? Let's just face it, it's not the Organization that'll kill us, it's not the Hellfire Club, it's not the FoH or the Hellions, it's the boredom." The blonde mutant sighed as she pulled out her cell phone and started to surf the net on it. Meanwhile, Ray and Roberto were passing by in the background arguing about something.

"You're wrong!" Ray snapped.

"No, you're wrong!" Roberto snapped back at his rival.

"Captain America would make mincemeat outta Batman!" Ray snapped.

"No, he wouldn't!" Roberto scoffed. "Batman's got a utility belt with all sorts of weapons and stuff! What's Cap got? Just a shield! A shield!"

"An _indestructible_ shield! That shield has taken punches from a pissed-off Hulk!" Ray retorted. "Batman can't do jack against it!"

"Oh, please!" Roberto laughed mockingly. "What's Cap got once he throws it! He's got no other weapons! But Batman's got his utility belt! He's got all sorts of stuff! If one thing he's got don't work, he's got something else!"

"Even Batman can be taken down by a big punch to the mouth!" Ray snapped. Tabitha continued playing around with her phone, she and Amara not noticing the escalating fight. The blonde girl's eyes widened at her screen.

"Hey, 'Mara!" The bomb-maker grinned widely, pointing at her screen. "Check it out!" Amara propped herself up slightly and looked at the screen of Tabitha's phone. "There's a new mall in Malibu, California opening up today!"

"Really?" The heliopath blinked.

"Yipe!" Roberto screamed as he ran off.

"Come back here and take your beating, ya punk!" Ray roared.

"Oh yeah!" Tabby grinned. "Some of Malibu's big bigwigs will be there, and..." She scanned further down the article. Her jaw dropped when she happened upon a revelation the article contained. "Oh. My. God."

"What?" Amara grew more curious.

"'Mara...you may want to sit down." Tabitha warned. Amara looked down at herself, and she realized...

"Uh, Tabitha..." Amara responded. "I'm already sitting down."

"YAHHH!" Ray screamed as he ran by.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Roberto cackled madly as he chased after him, firing a cannon he was also pushing.

"Oh." Tabby blinked. "Well then, guess who will be there?"

"Who?" A wide grin formed on Tabitha's face in response to Amara's questions.

"The Superstars!"

"By the Gods, are you serious?" The Nova Roman mutant squealed in delight.

"Yup." Tabby grinned madly. "The Superstars are going to be there!"

"But...after what happened at that concert...I doubt the Superstars will want to see us again." Amara sighed. **2**

"'Mara, they didn't hold us at fault for that whole disaster." Tabitha reminded. "I'm sure they'd be happy to see us again." She sighed dreamily. "Not to mention that _gorgeous_ Paul Starr."

"Yeah." Amara supplied her own dreamy sigh.

"Come on! WE gotta get the adults to take us there!" The two girls leaped to their feet and ran into the mansion. Meanwhile, a screaming Roberto was flying by.

"OH MY GOD! HOW DID HE GET ONE OF THOSE?" The Brazilian mutant screamed as he dodged paintballs from a machine gun. The machine gun was actually a 30-millimeter M230 chain gun, and it was mounted under the fuselage of...a Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, flown by Ray.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" Ray cackled madly in the cockpit. "Didn't think I'd find one of these, huh pal? Yeah!" He pressed a button on the control panel, and the cockpit was treated to the horns and strings of Richard Wagner's _Ride of the Valkyries_. And Ray had some perfect lyrics for it: "Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit!"

"AHHHHHHH!" Roberto screamed.

_**Well, well, well! Looks like the X-Men are going to be involved in a new adventure! What insanity will happen next? How will the Superstars react to meeting the X-Men again? Where did Ray get an Apache attack helicopter? Will Roberto escape the paintball barrage? Will I stop asking stupid questions? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!**_

**1 – In Chapter 22 of "Mutants of Twilight"**

**2 – See Chapter 29 of "Mutants of Twilight"**


	2. Mall Arrival!

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "Nobody says WHOO around here but me!" - Ric Flair**

Chapter 2: Mall Arrival!

**A park in Malibu**

A homeless man tried to sleep on the bench. However, for this man, slumber was going to evade him for a while, as a man paced up and down nearby. The man was grumbling and grunting to himself. He reached behind his head, and yanked off a band holding his shoulder-length brown hair in a messy shoulder-length ponytail. The action made his hair fall wildly over his head.

"Lousy chicken punkasses at Stark..." The man grumbled. He was dressed in a blue flannel shirt with the top button undone and sleeves rolled up, and blue jeans. "They fire me. Fire me. Fire ME? For what? Being brilliant, that's what! They said I was crazy! They said, 'No, you can't put missiles on a surfboard, Farley'! 'No, Stark Industries doesn't make weapons anymore, Farley'! 'No, you can't have the freeze laser, Farley'! 'No, you can't have that, now put it down, Farley'! 'No, you cannot have a picture of my wife naked, what the hell is wrong with you, Farley'!" The homeless man watched him grumble and complain to himself.

"Oh, fer God's sake, can't he shut up..." The vagrant groaned, pulling the newspaper he was using as a blanket over his head.

"But I'll show them!" The long-haired man, "Farley", grinned madly, pulling out a folded up newspaper article from his back pocket. His blue eyes gleamed and a wide grin spread across his face as he stared at the article. "I'll show them all! This new mall shall be the perfect place to show the whole world what a genius I am!" He then cackled madly. "Yes! Yes, I shall!"

"Make him stop. Please, God, make him stop..." The homeless man groaned.

"Oh YES!" Farley cackled. "Yes, the world will know my genius! And I'll start with this mall! The world will know the genius of Samuel Farley! Yes, they'll know my brilliance...and my fury!" His mad grin widened. "Oh, yes! They will know...They! Will! KNOW!" He then continued cackling. Groaning, the vagrant peeked up.

"Hey, will you shut up, man?" He snapped angrily. "I'm tryin' to sleep here! I gotta job interview at Disneyland tomorrow!" Farley turned angrily at the vagrant.

"Hey, f#$# you, buddy!" The insane blue-wearing man retorted, then he went back to his cackling. "BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" The vagrant growled angrily.

"Grrrrr..." He grabbed up an empty bottle of Jack Daniels that was lying next to the bench, and tossed it at Farley.

_Clunk!_

"OW!" Farley screamed as the bottle whacked him upside the head.

**The Malibu Mall**

A red Ford Mustang convertible pulled up in the vast parking lot of the new mall in Malibu, California. Scott Summers sighed in relief as the car came to a stop.

"Thank God we arrived at last." The optic blaster sighed tiredly, flopping his head on the steering wheel. His head started to hurt, and he desperately tried to ignore the sounds of Tabitha and Amara chatting excitedly. He turned to Jean, who was sitting in the passenger seat...with earbuds on.

"Oh, we've arrived." Jean smiled, pulling her earbuds out. She looked at the mall, a large complex that was around five stories tall. "It's so beautiful."

"I am so excited! I heard this place has a bowling alley, restaurants, all kinds of stuff!" Tabitha whooped.

"I know..." Scott groaned. He had seen the mall's website. To his surprise, he never thought that it would be possible to fit a movie theater in a mall. His surprise was compounded by the fact that the theater was actually a multiplex. _There's no way this mall can compete with the Mall of America in size._ He took a look up at the mall. _Probably explains why they decided to go __**upward**__ instead of outward._ "I'm going to get out of the car. I need some air." As quick as he could, the optic blaster got out of the car. In concern, Jean followed her boyfriend.

"Scott, are you alright?" The redheaded telepathic telekinetic asked.

"I'm fine now." Scott nodded. "I had to get out of there, Jean. I couldn't take much more of those two. Why'd they have to ride with me?" Jean shrugged.

"I have no idea." The redhead eyed another van pulling up in a nearby space. "Hey, the others are here."

"Too bad most of the main team couldn't come." Scott remarked. "But with Kurt still recovering from his infection, I think much of the older team would want to be with him for the moment." He noticed Sage and Ororo emerge from the van. Sage was rubbing her temples.

"I swear, if I had to break up one more argument between Ray and Roberto, I will telepathically wipe their minds clean." The dark-haired woman grumbled in annoyance.

"Welcome to teaching for the X-Men, my friend." Ororo smiled sympathetically.

"You think they're bad?" Scott chuckled. "You should sit with Tabby and Amara, Those two wouldn't stop chatting."

"Look at that crowd..." Jean remarked, eyeing the massive crowd of people entering the mall. "All those people..."

"I'm not surprised." Scott remarked. "It's the grand opening. Grand openings are always very busy."

"I am so excited!" Tabitha whooped. "This is so awesome! A break from all that training and worrying about the Organization trying to kill us all. Finally!"

"And even better..." Amara added. "The Superstars will be here!"

"Hell yeah!" Ray whooped in agreement. "That babe Jenni Starr will be there!" Bobby Drake rolled his eyes upon hearing Ray utter that name. Jenni Starr was one of the _last_ people on earth the cryokinetic wanted to be around at this point in his life. Her, and her Superstars' bandmate, Lila Cheney.

"Bobby, you okay?" Jean asked in concern. "Your jaw is clenching."

"I'm fine." Bobby grumbled.

"What's your deal, man?" Tabby blinked.

"My deal is, you guys keep talking about the Superstars like they are a great bunch, but all they really are is a bunch of thugs." Bobby scowled. "They just go around beating people up, and nobody holds them responsible for it!"

"Oh come on, Bobby!" Ray groaned in disbelief. "Your old man was asking to get his ass whipped. And you knew if Jenni and Lila didn't get their hands on him, Kyle Wildfire would've. And that kid wanted to rip his head off. You could see it in his eyes, man."

"How could you tell?" Roberto snorted. "He was wearing those stupid blue shades he always has."

"Oh, you didn't notice the fact that the Starr brothers had to hold Kyle back from ripping his old man a new one." Ray mocked.

"Guys, stop it." Sam sighed. "You two have argued throughout this whole trip."

"Hey, it's not my fault that this idiot believes Batman is the Chuck Norris of superheroes." Ray rolled his eyes.

"Hey, _I'm_ not the one that thinks Kyle Wildfire could take Batman!" Roberto snorted.

"Kyle and Craig Starr's fights are legendary! They're the bad boys of the band! Either one of them could take Batman on!"

"Okay, now I _know_ you're just trying to make me mad!" The Brazilian mutant snapped. The other New Mutants moved to keep the two separated...except for one. A stewing Bobby Drake stood to the side, lost in his own thoughts. A certain redheaded telepathic/telekinetic noticed that the cryokinetic had distanced himself, and decided to try and cheer him up.

"Bobby, are you alright?" Jean asked in concern. The ice-maker frowned.

"I don't know...it's just...they're all going so crazy over the Superstars." Bobby explained. "It's...nothing. Nothing at all."

"Bobby, you can tell me." Jean reassured. "I know it's been hard for you, your father disowning you and all..."

"It's just..." Bobby sighed. "I thought I was over this."

"Bobby, it's only been a couple days since that concert disaster. Things like this take time." Jean reassured.

"I thought I had accepted that I can't get my family back, but..." Bobby shook his head. "It's just the idea of seeing the Superstars again after that concert..." The ice-maker sighed. "I can't describe it. I know, my dad disowned me, he hates my guts, but...Lila and Jenni beat the crap out of him. And..." He shook his head.

"It still hurts because he's still your father." Jean realized. Bobby nodded.

"Yeah. Essentially." The ice-maker confirmed. "Call me crazy for hoping this, but..." His head drooped. "I hoped that maybe one day...my dad would understand...and maybe I'd get my family back..." His fists clenched. "But Lila Cheney and Jenni Starr may have completely wrecked that. I know it's stupid, but..."

"Bobby, I understand." Jean smiled. "Look, maybe you can talk to them and settle things with them. They were always very approachable with us."

"I doubt it." Bobby scowled. "I doubt they even remember it, nor do they care. They're celebrities, Jean. God knows nobody will hold 'em responsible for anything they do. Everyone will just let them keep doing whatever they want, because they're famous, and they automatically become untouchable by any laws or even decency."

"Bobby, they're not really like that." Jean shook her head with a smile. "Look, just talk to them. It won't do you any good to hold a grudge like this." Bobby started to object, but then just sighed.

"Fine." The ice-maker agreed. "But I promise nothing."

"Fair enough." Jean accepted with a nod. "Come on, let's go join the others." She and Bobby joined the other mutants.

"Everything okay?" Scott asked.

"Fine." Jean smiled. "Just Bobby needed a little perking up." She then whispered in his ear, "He's still a little down about that whole disaster at the concert."

"Ah, I see." Scott answered quietly, nodding his head. "Well, maybe this'll help him out." He then concentrated on the group. "Everybody ready?" The group nodded.

"Let us go, then." Ororo smiled.

"I do have something to admit, Ororo." Sage told the Kenyan. "I've never been to a mall before."

"Well..." Ororo grinned at the British living computer. "I hope you enjoy your first mall outing."

_**Well, well, well! Looks like business is finally picking up! What insanity will happen next? Will Bobby get out of his funk? Who is Samuel Farley? What is he plotting? And can our heroes stop it? Will I stop asking stupid questions? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!**_


	3. Ditching!

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "I will...with women." Master Shake, after being told to go to bed by Frylock, _Aqua Teen Hunger Force_**

Chapter 3: Ditching!

**An unknown location**

_Klick!_

At the flick of a switch, rectangular overhead fluorescent lights activated, bathing the small room in bright white light. The small room appeared to be a basement. It also appeared to be a workshop of sorts, with various power tools in the corners. One wall was filled with small shelves that had various small things in them like screws, nails, bolts, nuts, and washers. On another wall was a board with hooks on it. On the hooks hung various items like squares, clamps, saw blades, and wrenches. In the center of the workshop area, was a long table. On that table was a long flat object, covered by a tarp.

A madly grinning Samuel Farley marched, blue eyes gleaming with madness and pride.

"My greatest creation..." The mad genius grabbed the tarp and threw it off, revealing what looked like...a surfboard on steroids. Around seven feet long, the top of the board was flat like a surfboard, but the bottom looked like the bottom of a motorboat. The back of the board held three small jets. The bottom had a fin on the back for maneuverability. The board was held up by the fin and a pair of retractable struts from the board's sides. "My surfboard! Everyone thought I was crazy for making this thing..." He ran his hand over the board. "But with the experimental technology I worked on secretly and swiped from Stark when those buttheads fired me..." He snickered wildly. "I'll make them all regret it...and I can't have a stylin' surfboard..." He reached under the table.

The mad inventor pulled out a white box and opened it up. Inside it was a folded-up dark blue wetsuit-like garment with bright blue armored pieces. The chest plate in particular had an emblem of a blue-and-white stylized wave in a black circle. On top of the folded-up suit, was a bright blue helmet much like those of riot cops. "...without a stylin' suit." His grin managed to get even bigger. "Say hello to your newest super-villain, world! Say hello to..." He held up the suit. "...the Surf Master!"

**The new mall in Malibu**

The eagerly-chattering batch of New Mutants, accompanied by Scott, Jean, Sage, and Ororo, walked into the crowded mall.

"Goddess..." Ororo gawked at the massive crowd. "I have never seen so many people in one building before."

"It's this busy because it's opening day, Ororo." Sage explained. "It'll quiet down once people start getting used to this mall here."

"Okay, everyone!" Scott announced. "Gather around! I got something to say!"

"It's better to burn out than fade away?" Bobby quipped.

"Thank you, Kurgan." Scott rolled his eyes. Bobby chuckled.

"Aw come on, Goggles!" Tabitha groaned, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. "Lookit this place!"

"Now calm down, Tabitha." Sam reassured. "I'm sure we'll get to see everywhere."

"Are you serious, Sammy?" Tabitha laughed. "The only way to cover it is through independent exploration!"

"Miss Munroe has an announcement, everyone." Scott explained.

"Thank you, Scott." Ororo smiled. She produced some pieces of paper. "Everyone, the teachers and myself have prepared an itinerary for you for this trip.

"Awww!" The New Mutants all groaned.

"Are you _insane?_" Roberto groaned.

"I can't breathe...I can't breathe..." Tabitha started panting and patting her chest. "Oh God..."

"Here, Tabitha." Amara gave Tabby a small paper lunch bag. "Breathe into this." Tabitha immediately grabbed the bag and started breathing into it.

"Tabby, seriously." Bobby snickered. The young ice-maker formed a small ice cube in his hand. "You need to chill." He put it in the back of her shirt, making her jump up and yell in shock.

"Drake!" The blonde bomb-maker snapped at the laughing ice-maker. She growled, raised her hand, and...

_Whap!_

"Ow!" Bobby grunted, rubbing the side of his head where Tabitha smacked him. "Geez! Some people can't take a joke." Storm cleared her throat to get attention.

"As I was saying..." The weather-manipulator continued on. "These itineraries will allow you all to see the sights in the mall, as well as have plenty of time for lunch and to explore the shops of your choice."

"Why can't we just explore on our own?" Ray shrugged. "Besides, we might get to meet the Superstars again. It is said they'd be here."

"Oh yeah!" Roberto grinned. "Can't wait to see that total babe Jenni Starr again!" Ray, Roberto, and Sam grinned and hooted excitedly at the thought of meeting the blonde guitarist/singer.

"Oh, brother..." Bobby grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Not to mention Paul." Amara smiled dreamily. Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, it'll be a blast seeing the Starr family again."

"Look, guys." Scott tried to calm the New Mutants down. "It's not that we don't want you guys to have any fun here. It's just we still have to be careful."

"Indeed." Sage added with a nod. "Malibu isn't as unfriendly towards mutants as many other places, but we still have to be careful."

"And considering that disaster tends to follow us like a hyperactive puppy..." Jean added.

"Is THAT why you had us bring our glovatrixes?" Ray reminded, producing his own glovatrix.

"Yes. Now put that away, Ray. We don't want to cause a scene. Let's go."

**A few minutes later**

The group of Xavier students walked up to a large Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Scott, Jean, Sage, and Ororo were standing in front, the New Mutants behind them.

"Do we _have_ to go here first?" Scott sighed at Jean.

"Yes we do, Scott. Grin and bear it." Jean smiled. The optic blaster let out a sigh. _Serves me right for letting Ororo and Sage do the itinerary._ The New Mutants looked at each other.

"Let's ditch." Tabby whispered. "Go explore on our own."

"Tabitha, we can't!" Sam protested in his own whisper.

"Come on, Sammy." Tabby pleaded. "I'll go insane if I have to do this itinerary thing."

"I dunno..." Sam frowned. He noticed Bobby, Ray, and Roberto following Tabitha's advice and leaving. "Where are you guys going?"

"We're splitting." Ray explained. "Tabby's right, man! I wanna check out that game store!"

"I'm with them." Amara agreed. "I wish to explore!" She joined the boys.

"Your choice, Sammy." Tabby grinned as she walked up to the other leaving New Mutants. Sam sighed. He looked at the the two teachers, Scott, and Jean, and then at his teammates.

"Ah, why do I get dragged into these messes?" The Kentuckian mutant sighed as he joined his fellow New Mutants.

**The Food Court**

"Ah, it feels good to be away from the teachers." Ray smiled in triumph as he walked towards the food court, Roberto in tow.

"I gotta admit, I can agree with that." Roberto nodded. He then pointed forward as he noticed one of the various restaurants. "Hey, look! A pizza place!" Ray grinned.

"Aw, yeah!" The electrokinetic whooped. "Let's eat!" The two young mutants walked into the food court. However, they noticed two people sitting at one table in front of the pizza place. "Yo, Roberto! Look! Is that...?"

"Mae de Deus, it is!" Roberto grinned. "Come on, let's go say hello!" Meanwhile, two members of the Superstars, secretly members of the West Coast Misfits were enjoying some food at the food court.

"Mmm, this is good salad." Jennifer Hendrix Starr, one of the Superstars' singers and guitarists, and secretly the West Coast Misfit codenamed Shining Star, smiled happily as she ate a bowl of salad. The blonde teenager normally had a birthmark of a red four-pointed star over her right eye, but she had it covered up with makeup to hide it. She was wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans, white sneakers, and had on a red fedora on her head. A mutant girl native to Chicago, Illinois, Jenni had the power to fire crimson energy beams from her right eye and hands, and the power to hypnotize up to three people at one time with flashes of red light from her eye.

The Superstars were an all-mutant rock band who used their music to fight for human-mutant peace, but due to the great amount of prejudice that existed, the band were forced to hide their mutations and just act like regular human musicians.

"Hey, Kyle!" Jenni grinned widely, pointing at her salad with her fork. "You should try this salad. It's delicious."

"Does the Thunderbolt _look_ like a salad guy to you?" Jenni's companion grunted. He was a thirteen-year-old with collar-length brown hair, his blue eyes covered by blue shades. He was dressed in a black AC/DC _Razors Edge_ t-shirt, blue jeans, and black combat boots with steel toes and gold lightning bolts on them. He had blue studded wristbands and black biker gloves on his hands. He was Kyle "The Thunderbolt" Wildfire, the Boston-born drummer of the Superstars, and secretly a mutant with the power to generate and manipulate electrical power. He was eating a pizza with a plastic container of milk and an apple next to him. "The Thunderbolt prefers a nice hot pizza. The Thunderbolt can't understand why some people would eat a stupid jabroni salad." Jenni sighed.

"I suppose I should be grateful that I managed to convince you to get an apple." The blonde girl sighed. Kyle shrugged.

"The Thunderbolt likes apples." The electrokinetic took a bite of his apple, as if he wanted to illustrate his point. Jenni shook her head.

"If you say so, Kyle." She smiled and sighed happily. "We needed this break."

"Break from what?" Kyle snorted. "All we do is jerk around doin' nothing and waste time on our tours."

"Kyle, we do very important work." Jenni reminded. "We may not fight on the front lines like our East Coast counterparts do, but we make sure they got some good knowledge to use."

"I'm a fighter, not a damn librarian." Kyle grumbled, taking another bite of his apple. He then heard yelling. "What in the blue hell?" The young mutant turned his head and... "Oh, no."

"Jenni!" Ray Crisp called as he and Roberto ran towards Jenni and Kyle's table.

"Aw, great." Kyle groaned, putting his head in his hands. "Two of the X-Men, some of the biggest embarassments of the mutant race."

"Kyle, be nice." Jenni hissed. "Hey, guys!" The blonde waved happily.

"Hey, girl!" Roberto grinned. "How's it been?"

"Just fine, thanks." Jenni answered with a polite smile. "Didn't expect to see you guys here."

"I wonder how the hell they plan to make mutants look bad today?" Kyle grumbled under his breath. Luckily for him, only Jenni heard his complaint.

"Kyle, be nice!" Jenni hissed, smacking Kyle upside the head. The action made the young mutant yelp and rub his head.

"What's his deal?" Ray asked, jerking his thumb at a muttering Kyle.

"Oh, he's just being his usual cheerful self." Jenni smiled. "So, how have you guys been?"

_**Well, well, well! Looks like our heroes may have some trouble a-brewin'! What is Farley up to? Will Kyle ever cheer up? Will the X-Men and Superstars team-up? Will I stop asking stupid questions? Ind out in the next chapter!**_


	4. Lasers and Lightning!

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "Oh my God, you've got a weapons room, too?" - Stewie Griffin, _Family Guy_**

Chapter 4: Lasers and Lightning!

**The skies over Malibu**

High above the skies of Malibu, California, a figure was riding what appeared to be...a futuristic flying skateboard.

"WHOO-HOO!" Sam Farley, the self-proclaimed Surf Master, hooted in delight as he flew high in the sky. He decided to try some aerial tricks. Simply by shifting his weight on his legs, he was able to change the pitch and tilt of his board. Combining this with his skills as a surfer, Farley was able to perform aerial tricks like barrel rolls and loop-de-loops. "THIS IS AWESOME!" The mad grin returned to his face as he felt the wind blow through the long brown hair that his helmet let free. "Oh YEAH! This is great!" The madman noticed that he was about to fly over the park he was ranting in earlier in the day. He also noticed another familiar sight: the bum sleeping on the park bench. The very same bum that had hit him in the head earlier in the day.

"Zzzzzzz..." The homeless man snored peacefully, using some old newspapers as a blanket. "Zzzzz...message from Starfleet, captain...zzzzz..."

"Hee hee hee..." The self-proclaimed Surf Master giggled insanely to himself. "Time to test the maneuverability." With a mental command, he was able to force the board to point its nose downward. With a second mental command, Sam Farley fired the jets on is board, causing him to go into a nosedive towards the bum.

"Zzzzz...humn?" The homeless man blinked blearily as the noise of the flying surfboard caused him to leave Dreamland and re-enter the waking world.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Farley cackled as he dove towards the man.

"Huh? Wha-?" Still lying on the bench, the man turned and opened his eyes. "Wh-WHA?"

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Farley laughed insanely as he bore down on the homeless man. He crouched his body down to reduce drag and increase his speed.

"OH GOD NO!" The homeless man screamed in terror, throwing his hands up in front of his face in reflex. Faster and faster the cackling inventor raced towards the man, the poor homeless man's fate seemingly sealed. However, at the last possible second...

_**Fwoosh!**_

The surfboard pulled up, and a hooting Farley shot upwards into the air.

"WHOO!" Farley whooped, pumping a fist in the air in delight. "Now _**that**_ is how ya fly! Yeah!"

"Oh God...Oh, dear God..." The homeless man panted, tapping his chest as if it could steady his racing heart. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey from his jacket. "I gotta quit drinkin'." He then tossed it away.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Sam Farley cackled insanely. "I love this suit, ha ha-huh?" His suit's sensors alerted him to a gathering down below. "Well..." He grinned. "This should be interesting..." He swerved his board, and raced towards the signal's source.

**The Mall Food Court**

"So, how have you guys been?" Jenni asked Ray and Roberto kindly.

"Ah, the usual." Roberto smiled. "Kicking Organization ass, and getting no respect for it."

"Well, if it is any consolation, I admire and respect you guys greatly." Jenni reassured. "I think you guys are very brave to fight the Heartless like you do."

"Are you serious?" Kyle tried not to laugh.

"Quiet, you!" The blonde Chicagoan girl hissed at the Bostonian mutant.

"Thanks, Jen." Ray smiled, obviously dumbstruck by Jenni's kind words. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Oh, for the love of-!" Kyle groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.

"So, how are you guys liking Malibu so far?" Jenni asked the two members of the X-Men.

"Actually, we've only been to the mall so far." Ray explained. "But it's nice."

"Yeah, we like it here." Jenni nodded in agreement.

"Malibu is a refuge for us." Kyle added. "People don't bother us all the time here. We get treated like regular folks, which is nice."

"Not to mention, believe it or not, Malibu is also rather mutant-friendly." Jenni contributed. "So, for mutant rights-supporters like us, it's a nice place to be." Kyle shrugged.

"It's not bad, but the Thunderbolt misses Boston."

"Wow." Roberto blinked. Ray raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't think that _anywhere_ was remotely mutant-friendly."

"Does explain why no one is hassling us." Roberto finally noticed.

"Yeah, we like it." Jenni smiled. "This new mall is also really sweet."

"So, what're the Superstars doing here in this mall?" Roberto wondered. "You guys gonna perform here or something?" Jenni shook her head.

"Not today, I'm afraid." Ray and Roberto seemed saddened. Since they first encountered Jenni Starr at Brown University, the two young mutants (alongside with quite a few of the other Institute's young male residents) had become smitten with the Superstars' blonde bombshell. As a result, they picked up quite a bit of the Superstars' merchandise and music, and hoped they would get another chance to see Jenni sing live...as well as a concert that would end in peace.

"Aw, that's too bad."

"And the Thunderbolt has to deal with his idiocy all the time around the Starr family." Kyle grumbled quietly under his breath, hoping Jenni didn't hear it.

"Ah, we could use the break." Jenni shrugged, taking a bite out of her salad. Kyle sneered at his bandmate/fellow West Coast Misfit.

_Oh yeah, because what we do is **so** exhausting. _Kyle took a bite out of his apple and chewed it in a visibly annoyed manner.

"What's your deal, man?" Roberto blinked at the electrokinetic. The Bostonian shot the Brazilian solar battery an 'are-you-serious' look.

"You serious?" Kyle retorted. "You are serious."

"Kyle, don't-!" Jenni started to get up.

"No no no no no, Jen! I want them to hear this!" Kyle snapped. He got up and got in Roberto's face. "You wanna know what the Thunderbolt's deal is? You shut your mouth and listen up, Sunny! The Thunderbolt don't like you! He don't like any of you X-Men! You know why?"

_Oh no..._ Jenni fought the desire to let her jaw hit the ground.

"Because you jabronis are an _embarrassment,_ that's why!" Kyle roared in Roberto's face. "Do you X-Clowns realize how hard you guys help make things for mutants?"

_Oh God, Kyle..._ Jenni tried not to visibly wince. _Don't say anything, please don't..._

"You say you X-Men want to show that mutants and humans can live in peace." Kyle scowled. "Well, guess what? You make things worse for mutants every single time you try and do that! You, as well as those Misfit jabronies you like to pal around with-!"

"We're _not_ friends, pal!" Ray snapped. The Thunderbolt ignored his fellow electrokinetic.

"As the Thunderbolt was saying, you and those Misfit jabronies like to pal around with have done nothing but disgrace mutants! You guys make mutants look like out of control lunatics that people _should _fear!" The young Bostonian's scowl deepened. "Like that disaster that was that Brown University's little BS box-lunch."

"Now that wasn't the X-Men's fault..." Jenni tried to interject.

"Yeah, it was those idiots in the FoH that wrecked everything!" Roberto reminded.

"You know why clowns like them pull the crap they do?" Kyle retorted. "Because they are afraid of you guys. And they are afraid because you keep _giving _them reasons to be afraid! How many times have you guys tried to give mutants a good name, and how many times did you end up making things worse for 'em?"

_Wow._ Jenni thought in surprise. _For a moment there, I thought Kyle would reveal his mutantcy._

"Hey, some of it was the Misfits' fault!" Ray snapped. Jenni stood up, making a calming gesture with her hands.

"Hey, why don't we just all just calm down, take some seats and let's all have us some milkshakes together, huh? My treat." The blonde offered.

"We don't need any damned milksakes, Jen!" Kyle snapped. "What these jabronies need is a good ass-whuppin'!" At that moment, Jenni was thanking every deity that she could think of that Kyle was wearing his favorite pair of blue shades. The only thing about his powers that he never had really been able to master yet was that when he got really mad (Which can happen quite a bit with his legendary temper), his eyes would start to glow bright yellow. Fortunately, Kyle's shades were opaque, so they could successfully hide Kyle's glowing eyes.

However, there was still risk involved. Kyle's shades were vulnerable to anything any other pair of shades were vulnerable to. Also, if he didn't have them, the risk of accidental exposure was increased. During the Brown University disaster, Kyle's eyes started to glow during his brawl with FoH soldiers. Luckily, the Misfit member Justin Moore, codenamed Whitelighter, pointed it out to the Boston native, and he was forced to cover his eyes and feign injury, much to his chagrin. As such, Jenni was understandably worried about Kyle's exposing his mutant nature by accident. And unlike the other Superstars, Kyle would not care if that happened.

_God, let Kyle's shades stay on. Please, let Kyle's shades stay on..._ The blonde girl silently prayed.

"You want an ass-whuppin'?" Ray got in Kyle's face, fists clenching.

"You ain't so tough, jabroni!" Kyle shoved Ray. "You ain't nothin' without your powers!"

"Hey hey hey, come on!" Jenni leapt up and pushed the two electrokinetics apart. "There's no need for this!"

"There's always need for a good fight!" Kyle growled.

"He wants one, he can come and get one!" Ray snapped.

"What the hell is his deal, man?" Roberto grumbled.

"I don't know!" Jenni shot an annoyed look at Kyle. "He's been a royal pain lately."

"You _know_ why, Blondie!" Kyle hissed poisonously. He pushed himself back from Jenni's arm and stomped off. Jenni sighed, and turned towards the two New Mutants.

"I am truly sorry for Kyle's behavior." Jenni apologized sincerely. "Normally, he's not this bad. If we just leave him alone to cool off for a while, he'll be alright."

"Tell that to the papers." Ray remarked with a scowl and crossed arms. "Everybody knows about his temper."

"Yeah." The blonde admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "But...it's been a stressful time lately for us. The fallout from the concert, the rest of the tour...it can be weary." Jenni scratched her head. "Thank God we got this break here in Malibu." Unknown to the three young mutants, Kyle had hidden behind a nearby column. He wanted to hear this conversation.

"Kyle grumbled about us making things harder for mutants." Roberto remembered. "What's he talking about?" Jenni struggled to find an answer...until she was it by inspiration. Of course!

"Kyle's older brother." Jenni explained. "You see, Kyle has an older brother that is a mutant. And it hasn't been really easy for him. He's one of the reasons why the Superstars are ardent supporters of mutant rights. I've met him, and he is..." Jenni struggled to find the words. "...intense. And quiet. But he's very nice." Ray snapped his fingers when he realized something.

"Hey, wait a minute, I just remembered something! Muir Island!"

"What _about_ Muir Island?" Roberto snorted.

"On Muir Island, we met a guy named Wildstar." Ray explained.

"Oh, really? Is he a new superhero?" Jenni feigned unfamiliarity with her cousin's codename.

"He works with Jinx and a bunch of Joes on the West Coast." Ray explained.

_Hmmm..._Jenni thought. _Now I truly understand why Jake had concerns about the West Coast Misfits being kept secret._ "That _is _a surprise." Jenni thought. "I thought he was one of Los Angeles's local superheroes."

"I just noticed something." Ray explained. "You see, Wildstar...actually, he told us his name was Ace, had a star on his face. It had eight points and it was blue, kinda like the stars you and your cousins wear on stage." Kyle smirked.

_Oh-ho, the Starrs are busted!_ Kyle mentally whooped, pumping his fist. _Now Jenni will **have** to tell the truth!_ Jenni blinked for a moment.

"Oh..." Jenni sighed. The blonde then nodded. "Okay, you got us. I have a confession to make."

_Finally! _Kyle's face split into a wide grin. _Finally, you have to tell the damn truth! You finally have to tell someone you're a mutant!_

"The Wildstar is Paul, Craig, and my cousin." Jenni confessed. "And as you all know, he himself is a mutant. He's one of the reasons why the band supports mutant rights." She sighed and looked at her cup. "Ace is a great guy. His parents accept him, as well as his friends in LA, but he's gotten his fair share of flack for being a mutant. And it's not right. As I said, he's a good guy. His star is a birthmark..."

_That star **you** have on your face is a birthmark, too! Funny you forget that..._Kyle scowled, crossing his arms.

"And in honor of him, we put stars on our own faces on stage." Jenni smiled. "With our own twists, of course. Mine's red because red is my favorite color. Same with Paul and Craig. Purple is Paul's favorite color, and Craig's is black."

"Ah, I see." Ray nodded in satisfaction. Kyle's jaw dropped.

_Unbelievable! _Kyle mentally groaned, smacking his forehead with his palm in disbelief. _Jenni is unbelievable! She had an opportunity to tell the damn truth, and she doesn't take it! And these two X-Clown jabronis are so stupid! They should've been able to figure it out! What the hell is WRONG with them?_

"I thought you guys did it as a nod to KISS." Roberto blinked.

"Well, that too." Jenni grinned.

_**Well, well, well! Looks like Kyle's temper nearly got him into trouble again! What insanity will happen next? What are the other New Mutants up to? What havoc will Surf Master cause? Will Scott notice the New Mutants have run off? Find out in the next chapter!**_


	5. Villainous Plotting!

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "Dammit, Dale!" - Hank Hill, _King of the Hill_**

Chapter 5: Villainous Plotting!

**The skies over Malibu**

"BWA-HAHAHAHAHA!" The Surf Master cackled as he soared over the skies of Malibu, California. "WHOO! God, I love this board!" The mad inventor smiled as he just let the wind blow through the hair that his helmet allowed to go free. He could hear a slight beeping from the visor of his helmet. The HUD of the helmet alerted him to a group of people on the ground below him. "Hello..." His smile broke out into a grin. "Looks like there's some people down there. I'd better give them a looksee." Just like his sensors indicated, there were five people hanging around in a clearing.

"Well, it looks like a bunch of us have decided to hit this here mall." A man in a heavily-padded brown-and-yellow costume remarked. His costume also had silver gauntlets covering the forearms, leaving his fingers and thumbs free. He was Herman Schultz, the Shocker. A regular foe of Spider-Man, Shocker's trademark was his vibro-gauntlets, wonderous devices of his own design that could fire powerful vibrations and shockwaves. The unique look of his costume was due to the padding he needed to protect himself from the vibrations. "I guess I wasn't the only one who decided to try and hit a place in a town where there were no superheroes."

"Well, I have an actual _need_ for capital." A woman stated. Her curvaceous frame was covered by purple figure-revealing full-body armor that had thick yellow stripes on the calves and upper arms. The stripes had a black circuitry pattern on them. Her face was covered by a yellow faceplate with glowing red eyes. The armor was completed by a green cape and hood. She was Cylvia Anita Cyber, aka Doctor Cyber. A foe of Wonder Woman, Cyber was a brilliant scientist. Embittered with the scientific community's horror about her theories and experiments in cybernetic enhancement, she made herself into a cyborg to prove her theories, and to get revenge on said community. Her cybernetic implants allowed her to stretch her limbs, and her armor, also self-designed, came with a forcefield, enhanced her strength and toughness, and was also fitted with various weapons. "I need money for my experiments and research. The rest of these clowns are merely here just to cause mayhem."

"Excuse me, Doctor?" A man raised his eyebrow underneath his goggles. The man wore a red-and-yellow costume with built-in body armor. The costume had an emblem of a flame on the chest, and sleek yellow-and-gold gauntlets covering the hands and forearms. On his hip was a small scabbard, with a hilt of a dagger peeking out of it. His eyes were covered by red goggles. His name was Dan Springer, but the authorities also knew him as Flame, an arsonist-for-hire. "I am not here to cause random mayhem. I was hired by a business operating in the mall to remove several rivals that are also operating within the same mall." **1**

"Really?" A Hispanic woman inquired. She was wearing a yellow and purple costume. The cowl of her costume let two black braids run loose. The woman was a member of the group of snake-themed supervillains known as the Serpent Society. Her name was Teresa Vasquez, but she was the assassin-for-hire codenamed Fer-de-Lance. Thanks to chemical treatments, she had enhanced strength and durability. Her costume was also equipped with her trademark weapons: a retractable 8-inch razor-sharp omnium steel claw-like blade on each arm. Her boots were also equipped with 3-inch retractable claws. "Let me guess, you were hired by the manager of that pizza joint, right? Uh...Petey's Pizza, right?" Her voice showed the inflection of her native Puerto Rico.

"Why, yes." Flame raised an eyebrow. "The manager there hired me to torch the Crazy Sal's pizza place."

"I was going to rob that place." Fer-de-Lance explained.

"Ah." Flame nodded. Doctor Cyber chuckled.

"Looks like you have a problem here, Flame." Flame glared at the cyborg after her little show of smarmy humor. Shocker just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, fer God's sake..." The yellow-and-brown-wearing man muttered.

"_Actually,_ Doctor, I would have no issue with Fer-de-Lance ransacking the store." Flame scowled. "My employer doesn't care about the store's money. He just wants the store burned to the ground."

"Just as long as you don't burn me to the ground, _apuesto_." Fer-de-Lance smirked. **2**

"Are you two going to flirt with each other _now?_" Doctor Cyber groaned.

"I don't give a damn, as long as those two focus when they need to." Shocker scowled at Doctor Cyber. "Now, since we got similar goals, I figured that we should join forces. You know, like the heroes do when they decide to beat on us?"

"Sure, why not?" Fer-de-Lance shrugged.

"I see no problem with that." Flame agreed.

"If I must." Doctor Cyber grumbled.

"Hello..." The four villains stopped and looked up. They saw the insane Surf Master floating down towards them on his flying surfboard. His wild grin threatened to split his face.

"What is-?" Doctor Cyber gaped.

"Who the hell-?" Shocker blinked.

"Hello..." The Surf Master greeted again. "I heard you guys wanted to ransack that mall."

"Who _are_ you?" Doctor Cyber growled.

"I..." Surf Master took a dramatic bow. "...am the Surf Master! The Big Kahuna of the skies!" He laughed.

"Surf...Master?" Fer-de-Lance struggled not to laugh.

"Who _is_ this guy?" Shocker muttered in disbelief.

"Friend of yours?" Flame shot mockingly at Doctor Cyber. The cyborg cyberneticist glared back at the arsonist.

"Does he _look_ like a friend of mine?" She grumbled. She turned back towards the insane inventor. "What is it that you want, Surf Master?"

"Well..." Surf Master jumped up to his feet on his board. "I overheard you guys wanting to wreak a little bit of havoc. Well, just so you know..." He paced up and down on his floating board. "I created this little board and sweet little suit of armor because I wanted to wreak some havoc."

"I...see..." Doctor Cyber blinked.

"So I figured, being the genius I am..." He started to do a handstand on his board. "...maybe I could join up with you guys and wreak some havoc." Shocker sighed.

"Guys, huddle." The five supervillains did what Shocker suggested. Surf Master started to float towards them. "Not you, you idiot!" The insane inventor floated quickly back to his place. "Okay, you guys. What do you think?"

"He is clearly insane!" Doctor Cyber whispered harshly.

"We can use him, though." Shocker explained.

"For what?" Fer-de-Lance blinked. "To get shot at?"

"Exactly." Shocker grinned underneath his mask. "Hear me out, guys. We use him to bother the cops, we'll be able to do our jobs."

"And if we're lucky, they'll shoot him." Doctor Cyber shrugged. "I say we bring the idiot along."

"Yeah, he might be good for a laugh." Fer-de-Lance shrugged.

**The Malibu Mall**

"Hmmm..." Robert "Bobby" Drake rubbed his chin in thought as he looked over the shelves. He was in a bookstore. The Iceman wasn't necessarily known as an avid reader, but even he was not immune to the seemingly magical lure of a good book. On this day, he was looking for one that appealed to his particular tastes. "Let's see...where is it...where is it...ah!" The young mutant smiled when he eyed one particular spine and read the writing on it:

_The Adventures of Sam Starwin: The Jade Guitar Adventure_

"The new Sam Starwin novel..." Bobby smiled. "About time they released it." The cryokinetic was a huge fan of the Sam Starwin novels, a series of books that told the adventures of Sam Starwin, an intergalactic archaeologist who solved mysteries, fought villains, and romanced beautiful women. Bobby had read all the books in the series so far, and he was eagerly awaiting this latest novel. "This F.D. Robertson guy is an awesome author." Bobby chuckled to himself. He had been meaning to get his friend Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie into the series, as Sam was a big fan of science fiction, particularly Robert Heinlein. The young mutant's hand reached out and gripped the book between his fingers, when another hand, this one feminine, ended up touching his hand. Bobby blinked and turned his head.

When he did, he found himself looking at one Lila Cheney, the Superstars' keyboardist/occasional guitarist/vocalist, and unbeknownst to the X-Man, the West Coast Misfit codenamed Starway for her power to teleport across interstellar distances.

"Oh..." The dark-haired waif mumbled, her cheeks slightly reddened, her voice showing a Cockney lit. "...sorry about that. I was waiting for that book to finally come out..."

_Ah hell..._ Bobby groaned. _Lila Cheney. One of the **last** people on Earth I wanted to see._ He sighed and swallowed some bile that he felt in his throat. "...Hello, Lila." _Wow. Bobby found himself thinking as he looked at the British girl. I've never really gotten to see her close-up before, but she's actually really beautiful...Wait, what am I doing?! Come on, Drake! She's a rock star and she beat Dad up._ He shook his head slightly. _Besides, you still gotta figure out a way to win over Lina Chakram._

"Hey..." Lila smiled slightly. "Nice to see you again, Bobby. You look well."

"Uh, yeah..." Bobby sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks, I guess." He took a breath. _Cool it down, Drake._ He reminded himself. "...What you doing?"

"Oh, I was just picking up the latest Sam Starwin novel." Lila answered with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm a bit of a fan." Bobby blinked in amazement.

"...you're serious." The ice-maker mumbled.

"Yeah." Lila smiled. "I picked up one of the novels while at an airport in Denver a few months ago." Lila explained. "I figured it'd be a good way to kill a couple hours. You know, read a cheap cheesy airport novel."

"...which Sam Starwin novel?" Bobby inquired. "There's been a bunch of 'em. At last count, there's been about fifteen."

"_The Curse of the Crimson Nebula._" Lila answered. "I fell in love with F.D. Robertson's novels right there. As soon as I could, I scooped up as many as I could find." She smiled warmly at her fellow mutant.

"Yeah..." Bobby blinked. _I don't get it. What is with me?_ The ice-maker thought to himself. _A minute ago, I wanted to tear into her. I wanted to get into her face and scream at her about how much she ruined any chance I had to get back in good graces with my family, but now..._ He looked at the interstellar teleporter. _She does have quite the pretty face..._

"Hey, Bobby. You alright?" Lila blinked. "You seem lost in thought."

"Uh, oh, I'm fine." Bobby mumbled, shaking his head. He then took a breath. _Okay, Bobby, you can do this..._ "Look, Lila." The ice-maker steeled himself up.

"Oh..." Lila blinked. "I know what this is about. The concert, right?"

"Yeah." Bobby nodded.

"Yeah..." Lila nodded. "As long as we have the opportunity, we might as well talk it out..."

_**Well, well, well! Looks like things are kicking up! What insanity will happen next? Will the villains' plans succeed? How will the conversation between Lila and Bobby go? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!**_

**1 – Flame is an actual Marvel Comics supervillain. He first appeared in _Dazzler _#23 (January, 1983). He would not appear for a couple decades, until the last _Heroes for Hire_ miniseries, where he got Skrull organs transplanted into him.**

**2 – Handsome, in Spanish.**


	6. Reunions

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "Monitors 1-8, no dummy! Monitors 9-16, no dummy!" - Meatwad, _Aqua Teen Hunger Force_**

Chapter 6: Reunions.

**The Malibu Mall**

"Grrr..." Kyle Wildfire snarled as he stomped through the Mall. He had to get away from everyone for the moment. The young mutant grumbled and muttered under his breath, mainly various foul oaths towards the X-Men and Jenni Starr. As he muttered, he was stomping past a computer store, where a certain X-Woman was walking out with a bag containing some parts and items. In his anger, the electrokinetic was not watching where he was going, not realizing he was about to collide with the woman. "One of these days, one of these days, the Thunderbolt is going to rip the X-Men's damned heads off, turn them sumbitches sideways, and stick 'em straight up their roody-poo candy asses-!"

_Bonk!_

"Oof!" Kyle and the woman both muttered as they collided and hit the ground.

"Hey, you stupid jabroni!" Kyle snapped as he and the woman got up. "Watch where you're going!"

"Me?!" The woman snapped in an English accent. "You should be more careful, you-!" The woman stopped when she looked at Kyle. "...Kyle?" Kyle blinked in disbelief.

"Tessa?"

"...Kyle!" Tessa, aka Sage, grabbed Kyle in a hug. "Oh Kyle, I have missed you!"

"Ack!" The Bostonian yelped as he got swept up in the hug. "Tessa! Can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry!" The young woman yet the young mutant go. "It's just I'm so happy to see you again! I was so worried about you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kyle nodded, brushing off his sleeves. "Where the hell you been, Tessa? Went back to that bald-headed bastard Xavier, huh?"

"Yes, I joined the X-Men proper." Tessa smiled. "I'm glad you and Jake are safe...Jake _is_ alright, isn't he?"

"He's fine. Pissed, but fine." Kyle nodded. "Those bastard Joes dumped us in California and wouldn't let us help fight the Organization."

"Considering how you and Jake humiliated the Hellfire Club, I don't blame the Joes for hiding you."

"Took our parents, too. Locked them away in protective custody."

"Not surprising." Tessa nodded. "Considering how ruthless those Hellfire Club bastards are, they _would_ go after your family, so it's understandable the Joes would cover their bases."

"Still don't like it, though." Kyle grunted. "Jake and I can protect our family. We don't need nor want the Joes' help." Tessa looked around.

"We shouldn't be talking in public." Tessa reminded her young friend. "The X-Men don't know that we know each other."

"So?" Kyle sneered. "Let 'em know! The Thunderbolt don't give a damn what they know or think!"

"Maybe you don't, but it may cause more problems." Tessa eyed the store. "Come on. Let's talk inside."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding the Thunderbolt!" Kyle grumbled as he followed Tessa quickly into the store. "The Thunderbolt hates this cloak-and-dagger crap."

"I know." Tessa chuckled. "You complained about it constantly when we shared information."

"This spy crap ain't the Thunderbolt's style. The Joes knew that, but they didn't give a damn."

"You and Jake did pretty well as spies." Tessa smiled.

"Yeah, yeah." Kyle grumbled. "Just because we hated the job doesn't mean we were going to half-ass it." He then looked at Tessa. "It is good to see you, Tess. Me and Jake have been wondering how you've been."

"I've been doing alright." Tessa answered. "Been dealing with some more troubles with the X-Men and Misfits."

"Heh heh." Kyle snickered. "Hopefully, those two packs of jabroni clowns end up tearing each other apart one day." Tessa rolled her eyes.

"You _would_ like that."

"Yeah. Especially that damned frog."

"Why do you hate _Toad_ so much?" Tessa blinked. She knew that Kyle hated all the X-Men and Misfits with a passion, but Toad seemed to bring out a certain kind of venom in the young Thunderbolt.

"Why? Because that amphibious bastard got to have a damn Keyblade. But not just ANY Keyblade. A Keyblade of friggin' electricity. Look at me, Tessa!" Kyle held up his fist, electricity crackling on it with a light buzzing noise. Tessa's eyes widened.

"Kyle, stop that!" Tessa whispered harshly. "General Whithalf told me you had to keep your powers secret."

"The Thunderbolt don't give a damn what General Whithalf thinks, wait, what?" Kyle blinked, putting his fist down. "You talked to that senile old prick? When?"

"When I was fleeing the Hellfire Club." Tessa explained. "He found me and helped me part of the way. He told me that he sent you and Jake to infiltrate the Hellions, and reassured me you were alright. He also asked me to keep you being a mutant a secret." Kyle threw his arms. 

"That old bastard!" Kyle scowled. He moved to kick a display over, but stopped himself. "That sonofa-!"

"Kyle, calm down!" Tessa knelt down and put her hands on his shoulders.

"He just couldn't stop, could he?" Kyle grumbled. "He couldn't leave my family alone, and he couldn't even leave my friends alone! He had to get to you, too!"

"Kyle, please." Tessa pleaded. "He just wants to protect you."

"Everyone keeps saying that!" Kyle snapped. "No, they don't! The Joes don't want to protect me or Jake! They don't care!"

"Kyle, if they didn't care, why are the Joes trying to keep you and Jake safe from the Hellfire Club? People protect the people they love."

"They wouldn't me and Jake protect out family." Kyle countered. "We're not afraid of the Hellfire Club! We're not going to hide from those bullies!"

"Kyle..." Tessa hugged the young mutant. "The Hellfire Club are not just a bunch of schoolyard bullies, you know this. They are powerful, connected, dangerous, and ruthless people. They would stop at nothing to get their hands on you and Jake. You know this."

"Tessa..." Kyle sighed. "We can't run away from people like the Hellfire Club. We have to stand up to people like them. If he hide from them, it'll just give people like those bastards license to do whatever the hell they want, and that can't happen! That shouldn't happen! That is _not _why Jake and I agreed to help spy on them! We wanted to help stop them! And we're not doing that!"

"You are, Kyle." Tessa tried to reassure her friend. "Thanks to us, the Joes and the X-Men know a lot about the Hellfire Club."

"Yeah, but I'm a fighter, Tess." Kyle frowned. "The Thunderbolt should be on the front lines taking it to the Organization, not running around talking to people like some damned researcher!"

"Kyle, we can't win against the Organization and the Hellfire Club without information. Thanks to you and Jake, we have information. I know what you and the Superstars are really doing, it wasn't hard to figure out." Tessa smiled. "Knowledge is power, Kyle. The more knowledge we have, the better we can fight against them. Think about it." Kyle sighed.

"Knowledge can't kick Organization XIII's ass." The electrokinetic scowled.

**A bookstore in the Malibu Mall**

"...We might as well talk it out." Lila sighed. "But first, how have you been?"

"...Fine."

"That whole thing with your father, I know it must've been rough. I do hope you're holding up."

"I'm...dealing with it." Bobby sighed. "Lina said that it does get better." Lila mentally scowled.

_Huh. So that bloody bug bitch actually provided some actual good advice. _The interstellar teleporter thought. _Still, just because she acted all nice towards Bobby doesn't mean she genuinely cares about him. She probably doing it to keep him under her thumb. After all, she's really mooning over the Blob. But she just **has** to bloody string Bobby along, simply because she can. I'll have to remember to punch that spawn of Jeff Goldblum right in the mouth next time I see her._ Lila sighed, mentally casting out her jealous thoughts. Now was not the time for this.

"Look, Bobby...I just wanted to say I was sorry."

"For beating up my dad, yeah." Bobby finished, scowling "Sure you're sorry."

"I really am, Bobby." Lila continued. "I know it was not the best way to handle the situation, but I just couldn't help myself."

"Is that how you solve all your problems, by beating the holy crap out of them?" Bobby frowned, crossing his arms.

"Look, I get that you are mad." Lila held her hands up. "I do get it."

"You had no right to do that!" Bobby snapped.

"I know." Lila nodded. "But, let me explain..." She sighed. "Bobby, I...I was just angry. I-"

"You were just angry." Bobby grunted.

"I was angry about the things that your father was saying to you and about you at the concert."

"What do you care?" Bobby snorted. "You got fame and fortune. You're a big star! Why would you care about me?"

"Because..." Lila sighed. _What am I supposed to say here? I can't tell him I'm a mutant myself. I also can't tell him I'm a West Coast Misfit._ She looked at Bobby. _God, I can't even tell him how I feel. Unlike that bitch Chakram, I actually do care about him. Times like this, I really hate being a West Coast Misfit._ "...it...it wasn't right, the things your father said. You deserved better than that." Bobby's angry facade dropped a little.

"I...suppose." The ice-maker grunted.

"It was just..." Lila drooped her head shyly, trying to hide the slight blush on her face. Bobby still noticed the blush, and he let out a slight quiet sound of amusement.

_She's blushing. I wonder what she's blushing about? _The ice-maker pondered. _You know, she is kinda cute when she blushes..._

"...I...I know what it's like." Lila admitted. "I know what it's like to be stabbed in the back by people that were supposed to love you."

"Really?" Bobby frowned in disbelief. "No offense, but I doubt it."

"I really do." Lila countered.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?" Bobby frowned. "Not a lot is known about you guys before the band was formed. All I know about you in particular is that you are from England."

"I don't like those bloody vultures people call the paparazzi rooting around in me past." Lila explained. "None of the Superstars do. We have families, and we don't want reporters bothering them all the time."

"...that makes sense, I guess." Bobby wondered. _What is wrong with me?_ Bobby thought. _I wanted to tear into this girl! She and that blonde bimbo Starr ruined any shot I had at reconciling with my family one day. _He looked at her. _It was those eyes. I can't stay mad at her with those eyes of hers. They are pretty. Much prettier than Lina's. Lina is gorgeous, just her eyes aren't as nice as Lila's..._

"You alright?" Lila asked in concern, unintentionally interrupting Bobby's train of thought. The ice-maker shook himself back to reality.

"Oh, uh yeah." Bobby nodded. He then took a breath. "I am really angry at you. I was hoping that maybe I could reconcile with my family one day. I knew that was unlikely, but there still was a part of me that hoped..."

"I've been through that myself, mate." Lila reassured, putting her hand on Bobby's shoulder. "I've accepted the fact that my family and I will never be on good terms again. You will, too. At least you got the X-Men." Bobby smiled slightly.

"And I guess for you, the Superstars are your family."

"Pretty much." Lila smiled. _Not __**just**__ the Superstars..._ "The Starr family practically adopted me, ha ha."

"Heh heh, I can imagine that." Bobby smiled. "I bet you get into some wacky stuff."

"We're a rock band that tours all over the world." Lila laughed. "You'd be surprised at all the wacky adventures we get up to!" Lila laughed. "I could tell you some stories."

"I'm sure you could."

"Well..." Lila smirked wickedly. "There was this one little misadventure we got into in Paris..."

_**Well, well, well! Looks like things are picking up! What insanity will happen next? Will the villains wreck the mall? Can the heroes save the day? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly! **_


	7. A Quiet Moment

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "Not in the ocean. INSIDE the ocean." - Nathan Explosion, _Metalocalypse_**

Chapter 7: A Quiet Moment

**The Malibu Mall**

Scott Summers sipped on his milkshake, deep in thought. Across from him, Jean Grey was also sipping on her own milkshake.

"Mmm..." Jean smiled. "It was amazing the flavors that ice cream place had. This red velvet milkshake is absolutely delicious. How're you liking that peanut butter pecan one, Scott?"

"Hm?" Scott blinked for a second. "Oh, yeah. This milkshake is really good."

"You were thinking about something."

"Your telepathy tell you that?" Scott teased.

"No, you have a tell." Jean smiled. "What's on your mind."

"Something just came to me." Scott explained. "You know that guy we met in Muir Island. Wildstar?"

"Yeah, what about him?" Jean blinked. "He was very nice."

"Well, I was thinking." Scott explained. "You know that star he had over his eye?"

"That blue one? Yeah." Jean chuckled. "Funny little thing, that birthmark. It's a perfect 8-pointed star, with longer cardinal points."

"Indeed." Scott nodded. "I just realized something."

"Yeah..."

"Well, I noticed something. Paul, Craig, and Jenni Starr. They all wear stars similar to Wildstar's on their faces when they perform."

"They are a family, Scott." Jean reminded. "They probably do it in homage to him. Think about it. He's probably the reason why the band are open mutant rights-supporters. And besides, the stars they wear don't match Ace's."

"Yeah." Scott concurred. "Paul and Craig's are respectively purple and black, with five points. Jenni's is red with four points."

"You know, the Starrs' facial makeup kind of remind me of Kiss." Jean chuckled. "They don't cover their faces completely, but it does for some reason."

"Not surprising." Scott sipped his milkshake. "The Superstars have said that if it weren't for Kiss, they wouldn't be around. ...You know, do we really know anything about the Superstars?"

"There isn't a lot about their early lives..." Jean admitted. "I looked at their website. There is some stuff about their early lives. Paul and Craig weren't kidding when they said they were orphans."

"Indeed." Scott nodded. "And Jenni's a Chicago girl. Although you could tell that from her accent."

"And the Starr boys are from LA." Jean added, then sipped her milkshake. "Makes you wonder how they and Jenni met. How they learned of each other...and what inspired them to form the band."

"Yeah, it does. All that really bugs me." Scott wondered. "But then, the Superstars don't do a lot of interviews. And when they do, they don't go into their origins much. Rang some alarm bells in my head."

"Maybe you're being a bit jumpy, Scott. This Gathering thing has got us all on edge." Jean suggested.

"Maybe." Scott admitted. "Maybe. It's just it keeps nagging at me, you know? I keep thinking there's more to the Superstars than meets the eye."

"Maybe they're aliens." Jean joked, making Scott chuckle.

"Yeah, and they're here to turn the Earth into a gigantic glam metal arena." The optic blaster added on to the joke, making the two young mutants laugh harder. "Ha ha...Jean, it's been too long since we laughed like this."

"I'm hoping that we can laugh like that again after the Gathering." Jean remarked. "We need it."

"Yeah..." Scott looked at his milkshake. "I hope so, too."

**Elsewhere in the mall**

Bobby Drake had a lot on his mind. His encounter with Lila Cheney had...an effect on him. He was angry at her. Angry at Jenni Starr. Angry at the Superstars. He wanted to tear into her for what she had done, beating up his father. Yes, he did disown Bobby for being a mutant, and he had accepted that his family wanted nothing more to do with him...at least, he thought he did.

_I guess I'm not quite over it yet._ Bobby sighed. _I was stupid. Lila meant well, but..._ He shook his head. _I don't know. I just don't know..._ A storm of emotions was churning around inside the young mutant when...

"HEY!"

_Whump!_

"Oof!" Bobby grunted as he fell over. "Hey, you-"

"Watch it, you son of a-!" The person he collided with grumbled as he got up.

"Oh, no..." Bobby groaned as he realized who he collided with.

Craig Starr.

"Oh." Craig blinked. "It's you."

_Another Superstar._ Bobby mentally sighed. "Sorry about that, dude."

"Yeah, whatever." Craig shrugged. He then narrowed his eyes. "You're one of those X-Men guys."

"You've heard of me."

"You _have_ been in the papers and on TV. And the Internet buzzes about you guys quite a bit."

"Ah, yeah..." Bobby blushed, rubbing the back of his head. "We _do_ tend to make headlines, don't we?"

"If you X-Guys actually bothered to leave your mansion and join the rest of us in the real world every now and then, you'd know this." Craig frowned, crossing his arms.

"Considering all the craziness out there, you can't blame us for staying in the house all the time." Bobby chuckled lamely. Craig rolled his eyes.

"If that's your idea of a joke, it's not very funny." Craig grunted.

"People do tend to say that about my jokes."

"Then why do you keep cracking them?"

"Because I think they're funny." Bobby grinned.

"Whatever." Craig shrugged.

"Not a personable sort, are you?"

"What do you think?" Craig scowled.

"Look, I've just had a moment with your friend Lila. I just-"

"A moment, huh?" Craig snickered.

"Yeah, why?" Bobby grumbled. "I am pretty angry at her. You know she punched out my dad."

"She does get that way around you." Craig snorted.

"The hell you mean?" Bobby blinked.

"We once saw a commercial on TV for that TV movie that was about you and your family."

"Oh, for God's sake!" Bobby groaned, throwing his arms up. "That stupid movie!"

"From what I heard, the movie was pretty lousy." Craig chuckled. "Lila was _pissed_ when the commercial came on."

"...she...she was?" Bobby blinked.

"Yeah." Craig nodded. "Last time we saw the commercial, Lila demanded we change the channel or else she'd throw the TV out the window."

"Wow." **(1)**

"Yeah."

"That film wasn't about her. Why was she so angry about it?"

"You mean besides the fact that it was built around a lie, and its only purpose was character assassination?" Craig snorted. "She felt bad for you, what's so strange about that?"

"It seems strange to me, is all." Bobby shrugged. "You guys are famous rock 'n' roll musicians. She is one of you. Why the hell would she care about someone like me? I'm well-known for all the wrong reasons. I'm a mutant who was thrown out of his family, humiliated by a TV movie, I am the butt monkey of the universe! Why would she care about me? Can you explain that?"

"Are we famous musicians? Yeah, I'll give you that." Craig nodded. "As for why she would care, well...why wouldn't she?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...we're people, aren't we?" Craig answered. "Just because our names are known by many people, doesn't mean we aren't any different than any of those people." A shrug. "She felt bad for you about that whole thing with your family."

"And?"

"Let's just say she was betrayed by people she loved and we'll leave it at that." Craig explained.

"...Oh."

"Yeah." Craig nodded. "Just because someone is famous doesn't mean they can't feel or care about or _for_ others, Drake. Keep that in mind."

"I...see." Bobby nodded. "Is that all you have to say?"

"Just this. Stay away from Kyle today." Craig warned. "He's _really_ testy today."

"From what I heard about him, he's _always_ angry about something."

"Yeah, he's got a temper." Craig snickered. "Let's just say the X-Men _really_ tend to bring that out in him."

"I thought you guys were pro-mutant rights."

"We are." Craig confirmed. "Kyle's older brother is a mutant. That's why he's all for mutant rights. He hates the way his brother gets treated by anti-mutant jackasses. You X-Men and Misfits come along with your crazy antics, and it doesn't exactly make life any easier for him."

"Is _that_ his problem? I thought he just is a jerk."

"Kyle hates everybody, but he has different reasons." Craig shrugged. "He doesn't hate people just for the sake of hating someone. He loves his brother, and he hates what he has to go through. People have spat at him, and vandalized his family's home. Even sent death threats. But he goes along his merry way."

"We X-Men are trying to stop that."

"How?" Craig snorted. "By going on television and making complete asses of yourselves? It angers Kyle because you guys help paint public opinion of mutants. And you guys make them look like out of control maniacs that should be locked up."

"We don't intend that." Bobby argued. "The Misfits screw everything up!"

"Do they always?" Craig countered. "Trust me, Drake. You're better off hearing this stuff from me than him. I'm no fan of you X-Men either, but you are still better off hearing that from me than from Kyle."

"And why's that?" Bobby frowned, crossing his arms.

"Because Kyle's temper tends to do the thinking for him when he's set off. And considering how much you X-Men set him off, well...you don't want to know what he'd do to you." Craig explained. "Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go to the food court. I've been wanting a sub from Subway." The bassist walked off. Unbeknownst to either one of the young mutants, a disguised figure was loitering nearby. The figure was looking at a watch.

"It's time." The figure remarked quietly.

_**Well, well, well! Looks like business is about to pick up! What insanity will happen next? Who was the mysterious figure? Will Kyle confront Bobby? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!**_

**(1) – In the fic "Reaction II", written by me.**


	8. Talking Shop!

**Malibu Mall Madness**

**Disclaimer: "This'll make you say mama mia!"**

Chapter 8: Talking Shop

**The Malibu Mall**

Lila Cheney had a big grin on her face as she left the bookstore, holding a bag. The bag had a couple books in it. The British interstellar teleporter had found a couple book she was looking for, but that was not the only reason she was so happy.

Robert Drake, the mutant known as Iceman, was one who had captured Lila's eye...and her heart in a way. Ever since she first caught sight of him at the Brown University disaster **(1)**, the teenager had found her quite fascinated with the ice-maker. Sadly, because of her touring schedule with the Superstars and her being secretly a member of a West Coast-based branch of the Misfits prevented her from really expressing how she felt about him.

As a result of this, talking to her crush was rather awkward. Especially since she punched out his father for his cruel words he spat at Bobby when the Drake family attended a concert the Superstars were performing at.

Bobby was understandably none too happy to see Lila, considering he had hoped that one day, he may have been able to reconcile with his family one day. However, Lila manged to somewhat smooth things over. He didn't _completely _hate her, so she considered it a win.

_I wish I could've told Bobby everything._ Lila sighed in her head. _But it's just too dangerous. If Bobby knew I was a Misfit, he may have told the other X-Men, and Jake and Kyle may be in even greater danger. And..._ She shook her head. _No, don't think that way, Lila! Things will work out._ She looked over the books in her bag. _At least I manged to get that Sam Starwin book._ The British girl chuckled to herself. _I can't wait to read this new one...maybe after this bloody war is over, I can ask Bobby out. That is, if that damned bug Chakram actually decides to start being honest with him for once..._Lila sighed. She was distracted, and was not watching where she was going...

_Bump!_

"Oof!" The two people both grunted as they hit the floor.

"Oh, God!" Lila got up, approaching the figure. "Are you alright?" She noticed the figure was clad in a long black coat and big hat as she helped the figure up. _That coat and hat? At this time of year?_ "I'm so sorry! That was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Of course I am alright!" The figure, a female roared. She angrily whipped her head, glaring at Lila. Lila noted she was Asian, her brown eyes burned with an angry fire. "And you should be more careful!"

"I am sorry." Lila apologized again. "I wasn't watching where I was going." The woman scowled.

"Of course you weren't." The woman sneered. "Typical stupidity of youth. Now get out of my way!" She shoved Lila aside as she stomped off.

"Bloody hell..." The British mutant grumbled as she picked up her books, and scowled at the woman. She couldn't help but get a bad feeling about her. Lila had strong instincts thanks to her Joe training, and those instincts were ringing alarm bells in her head.

_I'd better follow this woman._ Lila thought. _She's giving me one bad vibe..._ Keeping her distance, the interstellar teleporter carefully tailed the strange woman.

_Stupid teenager!_ The woman, a disguised Doctor Cyber, mentally grumbled. _The brat had better pray that her little moment of idiocy did not foul up the Shocker's plans. For if she did, she would get a...wait_... Her sensors picked up someone following her. She turned her head, and saw the hustling and bustling people going to various stores, talking, enjoying food from a kiosk, even sitting and chatting on phones. Cyber frowned and went on her way. _My sensors must have a glitch. I will have to examine them after this job._ Unbeknownst to her, Lila Cheney looked up from one of the books she was reading.

**Elsewhere in the mall**

"Knowledge can't kick Organization XIII's ass." Kyle scowled at Tessa.

"True, not on its own." Tessa smiled wickedly. "But when the knowledge is in the hands of one who can beat the Organization..."

"Yeah, yeah." Kyle flopped down on a bench. "The Thunderbolt gets it. He hates it, but he gets it." Tessa took a seat next to the electrokinetic.

"It is good to see you again, old friend." The British woman smiled.

"Yeah, same here." Kyle concurred. "How's Xavier treating you?"

"He and I had some things to talk over, but we manged to smooth those out for now." Tessa replied.

"I see." Kyle nodded. "That bald bastard screws you over, let the Thunderbolt now. He'll layeth a smacketh down on his freaky-eyebrowed candy ass. And if any of those X-Men try to stop the Thunderbolt, he'll take their little mansion, shine it up real nice, turn that sumbitch sideways, and stick it straight up their-!"

"I get it, Kyle. You hate Xavier." Tessa rolled her eyes. In the past, she had heard quite a few of Kyle's rants about the X-Men. "You hate the X-Men, they make life worse for mutants, yeah yeah. They make mutants look like out of control crazies, yeah yeah. They never really made anything better for mutants, yeah yeah. Kyle, I _have_ heard them all."

"You have to admit, the Thunderbolt has a point."

"So you say." Tessa nodded. "I do get what you're saying, Kyle. I really do."

"I mean, think about it." The electrokinetic continued. "How long have the X-Men been around? And how much have they _really _helped since they came into existence?"

"They do mean well, Kyle. And change takes time."

"Look, the Thunderbolt wasn't expecting them to change things for mutants overnight. The Thunderbolt is not stupid." Kyle grunted. "It's just...I don't know. Those X-Men want to place themselves as the face of mutants everywhere."

"They kind of were forced to by the Sentinel attack." Tessa attacked.

"That's the problem." Kyle scowled. "They should've known that something like the rise of mutants can't be kept secret. Something like that can't be kept under the rug forever. They had an opportunity to actually show mutants to the world in a positive light." The young electrokinetic shook his head in anger and frustration. "And what did they do? They hide. They tried to hide what they were like cowards. They tried to keep themselves and mutantkind in general a secret. And look what happened!"

"I know, Kyle." Tessa sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I know."

"They screwed up." Kyle scowled. "They had an opportunity to introduce our kind on a good note. Do public works! Act like actual superheroes, but no, they had to be stupid, and the Sentinel exposed them! Thanks a lot, X-Jerks!"

"Charles Xavier was frightened, Kyle." Tessa explained. "Considering how people can react to those who are different from themselves, you can't really blame him."

"Tell that to the Fantastic Four, Tess." Kyle countered. "People love them! I see people wearing t-shirts, they have action figures! Hell, the Thunderbolt has heard that they're even getting their own movie! They got superpowers, and how long have they been running around before the Sentinel attack?" Tessa let out a little smile. She tended to forget that Kyle's brain contained plenty of knowledge regarding the history of the superhero.

"You do have a point..." Tessa admitted.

"And Captain America!" Kyle continued. "He was running around in World War II handing Nazis their own candy asses! Yet people didn't call for his ass to be outlawed!"

"Well, technically, Captain America doesn't have superpowers." Tessa corrected. "He just has peak human strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and the like. And I remember when the FF first debuted."

"Oh yeah, battling that Mole Man jabroni. God, how long ago was that?" Kyle chuckled.

"I also remember that the FF did get their fair share of detractors when they debuted." Tessa recalled. "A lot of people did not know what to make of them."

"If the Thunderbolt remembers his hero history correctly, it had been a while since we first saw any major superheroic activity." Kyle responded. "Most of the First Line and the Justice Experience were dead, Blue Marvel was God-knows-where...the Fantastic Four were the heralds of a new age of heroes." **(2)** Kyle smiled fondly.

"What're you smiling about?" Tessa asked curiously.

"During our tour, we met an old man. Turned out the old man's name was Patrick Carney."

"...I don't recognize the name, Kyle." Tessa blinked.

"The Yankee Clipper!" Kyle grinned excitedly. "The man was probably one of the only remaining survivors of the First Line!"

"Oh, I see."

"Yup!" Kyle chuckled. "He was a nice old man. Got to spend some time with him. I told him I knew all about the First Line and his adventures back in the 1960s...before the time belt he had blasted him to the 1980s."

"Sounds like you had fun." Tessa chuckled.

"Oh, yeah." Kyle smiled. It was a shame he couldn't even tell Tessa the whole truth about the Superstars' tours...and their real purpose. "It was cool. Even got to witness the new Yankee Clipper come about."

"Really?"

"Yup." Kyle smiled. "She's the new local heroine of Lincoln, Nebraska. Nice girl. A bit green, but Pat said he'd keep an eye on her and help train her." _Shame we couldn't get her to join the West Coast Misfits. The new tricks she was able to do with that time-travel belt would be handy. Crud._ "...Boy, this conversation got off track, didn't it?"

"I'm talking to you, of course it does." Tessa snarked good-naturedly. "Kyle, the X-Men were just scared."

"Well, maybe if they weren't so damned scared of showing the world they were mutants, then maybe things wouldn't be so damned bad after all."

"It's perfectly normal for people to be scared of things, Kyle." Tessa said.

"The Thunderbolt thinks fear is useless." Kyle scowled. "If people gave into fear, there'd be no innovation. Man would never have left the caves. Man would never have gone to the moon. Man would never have asked questions about how the world works or tried to figure it out. Fear holds people back."

"Fear also has its uses." Tessa smiled. "Fear can be used to warn people, to keep them on their guard. Fear can inspire courage, Kyle."

"Yeah, right." Kyle snorted.

"Fear is something that can be overcome, Kyle. Yes, I can see your point, but it doesn't mean that the X-Men are moronic or they want to make life worse for our kind. Sometimes, a good intention can just go wrong."

"It just would be nice to hear them admit they screwed the pooch." Kyle grunted. "Just once."

Meanwhile, a man in a quiet corner of the mall (finding such a corner was a small miracle, as far as this man was concerned), a disguised Shocker removed his hat, and pulled on his brown and yellow quilted hood. He pulled out a phone from his pocket.

"Okay, whackjob." He said into the phone. "Let's do this. Have some fun." He pressed a button. "Once Surf Master is rampaging, we do our thing."

"Right." Fer-de-Lance was heard answering. "We're all in position, _amigo_."

"I nearly failed to reach my position thanks to a stupid teenager, but I am in position now." Dr. Cyber answered.

"I'm in place." Flame answered.

"Alright." Shocker nodded. "Let's do it. Unleash the whacko." He removed the rest of his disguise and put on his gauntlets. "Let's do this." Up in the sky, the Surf Master was flying high above the mall.

"_When the going gets tough! The tough get going!_" The insane inventor sang to himself as he swayed and danced on his board. He heard a beeping from his board. "Huh?" He pressed the side of his head, activating a communications channel. "Hellooooo?"

"It's time, whackjob." Shocker announced. "Have fun. Just remember to keep the cops distracted while we do our thing, then get out of there. You got a place to go."

"Don't you worry about me, Quilt-Man." Surf Master chuckled. "I'll be able to get away! I am the Invincible Surf Master! No one can beat me!" He grinned evilly. "After this, I'll pay Iron Man a visit. Wouldn't mind showing that tin-plated turdbag who the man is. When I beat him down, that punk Stark will show he never should've fired me! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" He cackled madly.

"Uh...okay..." Shocker answered. "Just make a ruckus."

"Oh, goody!" Surf Master clapped his hands happily. "I _love_ ruckuses!" He took a dive through the air, his surfboard's jets roaring. His face stretched out into a massive grin, showing malicious joy in what he was about to do next. He thought about those little people in the mall, going about their lives. Shopping, eating, talking, enjoying their new possessions.

They looked like little ants to the crazed inventor. Little ants scurrying around, going from place to place. He was going to give them a show. They all had a part in his loss of his job, his passion, his life. And he was going to show them one did not screw with Samuel Farley...no, not Samuel Farley. Not anymore. He was the Surf Master. And he would show the world what they created. They drove him to this.

His grin somehow widened as he saw the glass ceiling of the mall go closer and closer.

_**Well, well, well! Looks like the really big fun is about to begin! What insanity will happen next? Can our heroes save the day? Will Lila ever get Bobby? Will Kyle ever cut the X-Men a break? How truly insane is the Surf Master? Find out in the next chapter!**_

**(1) ****– See RogueFanKC's "Box Lunch Bruisings"**

**(2) – The First Line was from the Marvel miniseries **_**Marvel: The Lost Generation**_**.**__**It told the story of an era of heroes between the Golden Age Invaders and the debut of the Fantastic Four. The Justice Experience was DC's attempt to create a similar bridge between their Golden Age Justice Society and the Justice League. They were developed in the **_**Chase**_** title in the mid-1990s.**


End file.
